Subramanya Bharathi – A Symbol of Vibrant Nationalism

Subramanya Bharathi was born on December 11, 1882 in Ettayapuram of the then Tirunelveli district (presently Tuticorin district). He died on died on 11 September 1921. In a relatively short life span of 39 years, Bharathi left an indelible mark as not only a Tamil poet but also as a Desiya Kavi [National poet]. His national integration songs earned him the name Desiya Kavi.

In December 1905, he attended the All India Congress session held in Benaras. On his journey back home, he met Sister Nivedita, Swami Vivekananda’s spiritual daughter. He wrote “As the mighty form of Lord Krishna silently explained the state of Atman to Arjuna, the Guru’s silence taught me the Bharata Devi and need for the love towards my country”. This meeting influenced him to fight for the country’s freedom and for the equality of women in our country. He visualised the ‘woman’ as an emanation of Shakti, a willing helpmate of man to build a new earth through cooperative endeavour. As an editor of the magazine Chakravarthini, he made the front cover of the 1906 edition with a caption “A Tamil Monthly Devoted mainly to the Elevation of Indian Ladies”

Though Bharathi had written many national and devotional poems, he says that his masterpiece is Panchali Sabatham. The poem Panchali Sabatham [The vow of Panchali] depicts the dice playing scene of the Mahabharata, played between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Yudhishtra loses all his wealth to the scheming Duryodhana and finally ends up betting his wife, Draupadi [Panchali], in a desperate last round. Bharathi, with his vivid imagination, changed the characters around, portraying Panchali as Bharata Mata and the antagonists Kauravas as the British. In his version, the Bharata Mata [Panchali] takes a vow to free herself from the suppression of the British [Kauravas]. The freedom fighter Subramanya Siva, a close aide of Veer Savarkar, wrote a review in praise of the book in the magazine Gnanabanu. Much later, researchers on Bharathi’s work have observed that the story was written to showcase the liberation of women and break the chains of women’s oppression.

Subramanya Bharathi kindled the patriotic fervour not only through poems but also through his editorials. The following editorial penned by him in the April 10, 1909 edition of the Tamil magazine India is an example: “I have said many times that our bhakthi towards this nation should be like that of Prahalad had towards Vishnu. The European countries like Ireland, which doesnt have the idea of “bhakthi to land” is considering of promoting “desh bhakthi” as religion. What are we doing? Let us remember the words of Swami Vivekananda, ‘The poor, the downtrodden, the ignorant-let them be your God.’ The new India has accepted this new religion and marching towards it. Tamils are yet to accept it. If we cannot correct course and accept the new religion, there will not be salvation for us.”

In 1912, Bharathi published Bhagvad Gita in Tamil. In 1918, he was arrrested

Years back, Subramanya Bharathi has given importance of the blend of spirituality and patriotism to the youth and it is still relevant.

Subaramanya Bharathi stands as an undying symbol not only of a vibrant nationalism but also of the unity of Bharath.

How Shall We Recover our Lost Intellectual Freedom

Sri Aurobindo says " How shall we recover our lost intellectual freedom? By reversing, for the time being, the process by which we lost it, by liberating our minds in all subjects from the thralldom to authority. The Anglicized ask us to abandon authority, revolt against superstition to have free minds. What they mean is that we should renounce authority of the Vedas for Max Muller, the Monism of Sankara for the Monism of Haeckel, the dogmatisms of Pandits for the dogmatisms of European thinkers, scientists and scholars. Let us break our chains in order to be free, in the name of truth, not in the name of Europe.

Our first necessity, if India is to survive and do her appointed work in the world, is that the youth of India should learn to think, - to think on all subjects, to think independently, fruitfully, going to the heart of things, not stopped by their surface, free of prejudgments, shearing sophism and prejudice asunder as with a sharp sword, smiting down obscurantism of all kinds as with the mace of Bhima…”.